Today's reading: Exodus 29, Matthew 23:1-36, Psalm 33:1-12
"This is the ceremony for the dedication of Aaron and his sons as priests:.." Exodus 29:1 NLT
I guess because yesterday God had my attention on Aaron's priestly robes, today's ceremony instructions caught my eye.
I read about the work put in to Aaron's tunic, robe, ephod, chestpiece, sash and turban. Some wrinkled, little, grayed Israelite grandmothers spent a whole lot of time working on them! After all the detailed needlework, I'm sure their reading glasses prescription had to be bumped up in number.
But the ceremony involved baked bread, livestock, oil, butchering, blood, internal organs and fire.
Imagine the smells.
Imagine the sounds.
Imagine the mess.
I think I was okay with the ceremony until I read that they were to pour oil over Aaron while he was dressed in his uniform.
Then they were to sprinkle blood, mixed with some oil, on Aaron and his sons and on their clothes.
Good clothes.
Special clothes.
Custom made clothes.
'Sunday' clothes made by someone's grandma!
What would I have done? I would have planned a service that involved singing, Scripture reading, prayer and maybe light refreshments after. There might have been some table decorations. Some special guests. Lovely proofread papers to hand out that gave the order of events for the special day. Maybe, just maybe, even some velvet ropes around the guest of honors as they wore their new clothes.
Neat. Orderly. Clean. Respectful. Sanitary. Comfortable. Inviting. Cozy.
But here is my take-away: God's idea of dedication won't always line up with our preconceived notions.
It's a messy business. If done right, there will be blood, sweat and tears. People will hear, see, maybe even smell the fact that you have been set apart by His Son's work on the cross.
So, priest-friend, you can go into the trenches with your priestly garments on as easily as you can sit on the church pew. You can give a hand to the one in the gutter as well as the one greeting as you walk in church. You can give a cup of water to the needy as well as the little one in the church nursery.
Our garments were made for getting dirty doing His work!
